US military’s mysterious X-37B space plane passes 500 days in orbit, but we still have no clue what it’s actually doing up there

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For just over 500 days, the US Air Force’s mysterious X-37B OTV-3 robotic space plane has been casually orbiting the Earth. X-37B looks like the Space Shuttle, and launches into space on the back of a rocket like the Shuttle, but it’s actually fairly small at just under nine meters (30 feet) in length. What’s truly weird, though, is that I’ve now told you everything that we officially know about the X-37B — its payload, current mission, and combat capabilities are completely unknown. X-37B OTV-3, one of the world’s largest artificial satellites, has been up there for 500 days, shows no sign of coming down any time soon, and we have no idea what it’s doing or what it can do.

The X-37 started life way back in 1999 when NASA asked Boeing’s Phantom Works division to develop an orbital test vehicle (OTV). The X-37 was originally conceived as an unmanned, robotic spacecraft that would rendezvous with satellites to refuel or repair them — but in 2004 the project was transferred to DARPA and it has been highly classified ever since. Starting in 2010, the US Air Force has launched two X-37B spacecraft on three missions (OTV-1, OTV-2, and OTV-3), perched atop an Atlas V rocket. The photo above, of OTV-2’s landing in 2012, is one of only a handful of photos that are publicly available of the vehicle. All three missions have spent a long time in space (220+ days), with OTV-3 now having spent over 500 days in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Beyond that, though, we know very little about the OTV-3 mission or the X-37B spacecraft. Amateur satellite spotters say that it’s currently orbiting between 43.5 degrees north latitude to 43.5 degrees south latitude — a band around the middle of Earth that takes in much of the US, Middle East, and Asia, but below Russia and Europe. The same spotters say that it has a very low altitude of around 350 kilometers (218 miles) — an ideal altitude for spying and other military actions, but too low to refuel or fix other satellites. Other observations say that OTV-3 has only made a couple of maneuvers while it’s been in orbit, meaning its big rocket engine probably has lots of fuel left, allowing it to stay in orbit for a long time to come.

So the question is, what is X-37B actually doing up in space? The USAF’s official fact sheet says that “The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold: reusable spacecraft technologies for America’s future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth.” This is probably only partially true (but Boeing is on the books to create the X-37C, which will at least 65% larger and have the ability to carry up to six astronauts). More realistically, X-37B is probably carrying prototype reconnaissance gear, for spying on the Middle East and other sensitive geopolitical regions.

Due to the mysterious nature of the X-37B missions, there are obviously plenty of conspiracy theories about its true capabilities. Is it merely a test vehicle like the USAF says, or is it a space weapon? The X-37B is small, but its payload bay is still more than large enough to carry a small thermonuclear device. If the US wanted to bomb somewhere on Earth incredibly quickly, the X-37B, which can return to Earth at speeds of up to Mach 25 (19,000 mph), would be ideal. Russia was always nervous about the Space Shuttle for the same reason (and fans of The West Wing will remember a storyline about the US military possessing a secret, weaponized Shuttle).

What the X-37B looks like in space, probably

In the same vein, Lockheed Martin is currently developing the High Speed Strike Weapon (HSSW) for the US military. Rather than being space-based, the HSSW would be a suborbital missile that uses magical scramjet technology to reach Mach 10 (7,600 mph) and strike most places on Earth within a few minutes.

First Japan’s space-based solar power plant, and now robotic space weapons. Perhaps GoldenEye and myriad other movies and TV shows with not-so-distant-future sci-fi plots were actually rather accurate.

“Phil, what are you doing?”
“Puttin on my mopp gear!”
“Why?”
“For SCIENCE!”

Dunbar

The fuel used by the space shuttle was toxic; I assume the X-37B uses the same brew.

Dozerman

No. The space shuttle used liquid hydrogen and oxygen. This uses a monopropellant, probably hydrogen peroxide.

Dunbar

Yes, you’re right about the liquid hydrogen and oxygen in the main engine; but, the space shuttle’s orbital manoeuvre system was a hypergolic engine that used nitrogen tetroxide and monomethylhydrazine; the latter chemical
is highly toxic and, as you mentioned, carcinogenic.
nitrogen tetroxide
monomethylhydrazine

Dozerman

Hmm… you’re right. It also looks like it’s probably being fueled up in the picture, too.

scott patterson

It’s on the ground….most likely defueling.

sketchbag

CIA research probably (or insert other intelligence letters).

Robert

It’s obviously an Earth escape pod for the president, DUH!

Ivor O’Connor

Interesting. I hope it is all for the good.

carol argo

any truck driver in America probably noticed this thing and thought it was a comet!at the pace it is going up there ?don’t sweat it it wasn’t peering in our window!if I had to venture a guess?its probably related to H.A.A.R.P ! it goes too fast to be of any use outside somekind of mapping something!one thing is sure.this thing is way faster then anything you are likely to see in normal sky!if I had to venture a guess?speedwise it can turn around earth A LOT OF TIME PER DAY!(I don’t have actual figure but I did see it a few time pass in space, I was expecting a comet but the color was obviously man made.ok not the color but the reflectuosity of whatever they use for mat change to a obviously not space item looking at all!anyhow ,another toy in the huge amount usa like to have(h.a.a.r.p,x37 , etc etc etc all pretty much useless if you ask me)I saw smart tho not long ago ,a sapper rogue unit infantry(whatever usa called those)dam those toy are mobile,and on the ground.not for the faint of heart but god those guys and girl must have ton of fun in those sapper rogue unit!

Dozerman

Sapper rouge unit infantry? What are you talking about? I’ve been in the military for awhile now and I’ve never heard anything called anything close to that. What did it look like?

The X37-B provides a very flexible low Earth orbit platform; it could be used for
observation or munitions delivery, it can land refuel and launch with a new
payload relatively quickly. It also has the advantage of manoeuvrability. Most
spy satellites alter orbits occasionally to avoid detection, the X-37B is a
mobile system by design; thus, it avoids the risk of anti-satellite
missiles.

Dozerman

Yeah, I think you probably hit the nail right on the head there. It seems pretty versatile; why would we only use it for one purpose when there are so many missions that it could perform?

dc

We have no idea what it is being used for, just speculation at this point.

Dozerman

Exactly… And speculation is a hobby of mine. :)

dc

Hopefully it is not growing biological weapons in zero g. That is always possible though. I read where Salmonella is something like 7 times more lethal when it grows in zero g. They could be testing hundreds of different viruses and bacteria. Just leaving them up there and letting them grow in various different conditions to see what happens over a prolonged period. The whole thing could be a flying death ship. Of course they could be doing something else with it, and hopefully are.

Mirimon

chemical and/or biological weapons fall under WMD, easily, and as such are PROHIBITED from going to and being in space.
-outer space treaty, signed by 102 countries.

dc

Do you really believe the CIA/NSA or JSOC care about what is prohibited or what isn’t? How can anyone believe that given the evidence to the contrary?

Mirimon

I don’t think they have any WMD type weapons up there, heck, even the concept of dropping tantalum rods (no payload, simply a giant metal spear) was considered taboo. also…. growing bio weapons in 0g would not be beneficial, as they would lack the strength to survive in a world with gravity and severely different atmospheres.)..
they can take and use conventional weapons up there all they want, I even endorse it. But in the end, space is a place of peace, and really doesn’t offer us much anyhow, aside from the “high ground” in a battlefield (which has become just as easy to neutralize)

ThomasXxs

Considered taboo? It’s hard to imagine much being taboo when you consider that in 1962 the US military launched and detonated a 1.4 megaton nuclear bomb in outer space (250 miles above the south Pacific). Some say that this was done to blast a hole in the Van Allen radiation belts around the earth to better enable a manned trip to the moon later in the decade. In reality, the blast made the Van Allen radiation belts even larger than before! And this increase lasted for many months, as a result of greatly adding to the volume of trapped radiation making up these belts.

Others say that the test was to investigate the chance that the Soviets might use such a blast to create a nuclear-induced electrical “fog” in order to mask a nuclear first strike. The resulting EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) from the US test knocked out streetlights and telecom equipment hundreds of miles away in Hawaii and it may have caused the early failure of many of the satellites in orbit at the time. You can google this event as Operation “Starfish Prime”.

Mirimon

That was then… it has long been established space shall be a weapon free area…one of the decisions helping to resolve the cold war rather than letting it escalate further.

Ben Sokolow

Bush let alot of those treaties lapse, which is part of what is starting the new cold war/missile shield boogaloo.

RKflorida

We don’t know what it is doing because it is a secret. Either spy stuff, or advanced tech stuff.

pixelstuff

Isn’t it obvious? The plane is broken and they can’t figure out how to get it back down. But since it’s mission started out as a secret, might as well keep it a secret. It’s much cooler to be mysterious than to appear incompetent.

Ben Sokolow

Swing and a miss in light of them recovering it.

pixelstuff

I’ll bet a few people thought the joke was mildly humorous. So probably not a miss.

RH

Well, since it’s flying mostly over the mideast & the USA, probably spying on American’s & Israel for the terrorist. ;)

Mo Friedrich

And I can’t stop thinking about how to get this baby into orbit in Kerbal Space Program.

Mo Friedrich

And I can’t stop thinking about how to get this baby into orbit in Kerbal Space Program.

David Porter

They are either testing its long-term survivability in space, or they can’t get the thing back down.

David Porter

They are either testing its long-term survivability in space, or they can’t get the thing back down.

Boeing is up to do X37C 6 astronauts aboard with a payload area . but I’d do 8 to 5 odds the payload on as longterm orbiter will carry up to a 25-=gigton H bomb as an infallible intimidator to keep Russia,China etc polite in knowing it’s there and they can’t touch it but it can reach out and touch them with a drop and leave a black disk 25 miles across if they get stupid and fire on us. It could do that with too little warning time for them to prepare That bird should be named the Peacekeeper, because it definitely will do that. I was one of the GIS in Operation Sage Brush in the mid-50s and the nucklear detonation had me in a deep trench with thick black padding on my eyes under weldwer glasses and on mmy hands,but that thing detonated and I saw the bones in my hands.I know what that stuff can do,So I hope no one minds if I quietly hope we never have to drop something 25 gigaton in size for any reason. Orderly peace kept is the only good game in town,Putin ,are you reading this? Memorize it..

Robert Reinhardt

Maybe a payload full of rod of god tungsten gravity “bombs” no need for nukes at all from that altitude

Ri Zen

Its probably got a small directed energy weapon on board and they’re testing the feasibility of knocking out satellites with it. Occam’s razor. (But the better choice is nuclear powered satellites armed with scaled up laWS to hit those fancy new N Korean ICBMs)(that and leave the holder of such a defense system the only viable nuclear power in the world-which is probably why such a system should be managed by the UN).

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